Improvement in bustles



C. B. PO-LL OCK.

Bu'stles.

No.128,813. 'Patentdluly 9,1372.

reams CHARLOTTE B. POLLOOK, OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN BUSTLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 128,813, dated Jilly 9, 1872.

Specification .describing certain Improvements in Bustles, invented by CHARLOTTE B. PoLLooK, of Norwich, in New London-county and State of Connecticut.

My invention relates to the arrangement of a simple and convenient device for the purpose of either lengthening a ladys dress-skirt, so that it may be a train-skirt for the house, or of shortening it, when required, to a suitable length for astreet-walking dress.

This adjuster may be made of any kind of cloth material, braid, or tape, or of these combined, as it is intended to be worn under an overskirt or basque.

Figure 1 shows the adjuster as made of plaited cloth. Fig. 2 shows it as made of braid or tape.

A .A is the. band, the end A being made long enough to enoirclethe ladys waist and tobe'fastened tothe other end A. G is the border of the adjuster, which is firmly united to the band A either by making the hem O c upon the outer edge of the plaited cloth B B,

as shown in Fig. l, or upon cross-tapes B B, as shown in Fig. 2. The back part of the dress-skirt is sewed to this hem or border C the front part to the end A of the band A, which passes around the front ofthe waist. E E are the strings for operating the adjuster. The string E, entering through the eyelet D, passes around through the hem or eyelets in the border (3, and is fastened atabout the point I; the string E, passing through the opposite side of the border, and by a part of the string E is, also fastened at'aboutl. The

strings are thus overlapped to enable the skirt" to be drawn up'easier, and to gather the fullness of the skirt more compactly in the back;

and these points may be varied toconform to I the style or to the convenience of the wearer.

By drawing up the strings E E, the border is drawn together and raised, partly or wholly, to the waist, thus shortening the skirt more or less, as desired, and loosening the strings lengthens the skirt.

The cloth B B, Fig. 1, is plaited or gathered, and the tapes BB, Fig. 2, made full, so as to give the proper fullness over theladys bustle; or they-may be made without, if no bustle is worn.

This adjuster can be easily attached to old dresses as well as new, and thereby an ordinary walking-dress may be made a trainskirt, or a train may be made a suitable walk ing-dress.

The ordinary length of the band A should be about twenty inches, and about one inch in width, and the inner curve of the-crescent should cover about half the band, and the crescent should be about eight inches across in its widest part for ordinary dresses. The strings should be about twenty-four inches long to enable them to be easily tied about the waist. 1

I claim as my iuvention- As a new article of manufacture the skirtadjuster herein described, consisting of the band A, crescent O B, and draw-strings E E, substantially asand for the purposes herein set forth.

' CHARLOTTE B. POLLOGK.

Witnesses:

A. F. PARK, WEBSTER PARK- 

